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Charlie Edwards defeated Thomas Essomba in a closely fought bout to win the European bantamweight title at York Hall in London.

Essomba pressed Edwards hard when he came back into the contest, but the Croydon man ultimately won a unanimous decision, 118-111, 117-111 and 116-112.

Edwards was in the uncomfortable position of seeing his brother, Sunny, in his opponent’s team. Former world champion Sunny Edwards manages and advises Essomba and was backing him even against his own brother.

Charlie Edwards might have been unruffled by that, but it was Essomba’s talents that made this a difficult contest.

Essomba, a Cameroonian Olympian, pressed forward, occasionally switching from southpaw to orthodox.

He cracked Edwards with firm shots to keep him under pressure.

But the challenger made used of his rapid footwork, shifting position from side to side, denying Essomba chances to pin him down.

Edwards had begun the bout well, but Essomba brought himself right into the contest.

Edwards though reeled off a triple jab and whipped his cross in as he steered himself through to a victory in a contest that was closer than the scorecards suggested.

A former world champion down at flyweight, winning the European bantamweight crown was a valuable step forward for Edwards in the division.

He wants a grudge match with former gym-mate Paul Butler but is positioning himself for a future world title too.

“Thomas is a tricky operator,” Edwards said after his European title win. “That puts me in a very good position. I’ve got options everywhere.”

His promoter Kalle Sauerland added: “Tonight European champion, back on the way to the world title. That’s where he belongs.

“We’re going to enjoy tonight, European title in the bank, world title next.”

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